Reaching Zero Waste
Amish,Michael Kenneth
Happy Friday Green Teamers,
Last week Randy Staples, the Associate Controller of Disbursement Services and Asset Management, announced that
Accounts
Payables would be going digital. This is definitely a good thing when taking action to reduce paper spend and reductions of a recyclable commodity. However, we have to remember it will reduce our recycling rates.
With a Zero Waste goal of 2015 we need to change the perception that increased recycling rates are always a good thing. Decreasing the amount of stuff we have to recycle on the purchasing side is almost always preferable to increasing recycling. To do this, we need everyone in every department (especially Green TeamersJ) working to help change buying behaviors- such as notifying vendors of excess packaging for instance- and helping others realize that just increasing recycling rates alone will not get us to zero waste.
Also of note? Purchasing announced in the InfoGator that the PrintSmart initiative that they are piloting right now has the aim of including all departments by spring of 2014. This process that has been researched at other institutions can reach the goal of reducing paper consumption by increasing e-storage of documents while at the same time replacing older inefficient units with energy star devices.
Sustainably yours,
Michael Amish
Office Of Sustainability
PO Box 113111
University of Florida
